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There are plenty of places to live that do not have zoning, and even a few with zoning who'd welcome The Behemoth with open arms. But you chose here, as we all did. And here we have had a near 75 year post-war consensus on scale, charm and SFR primacy embodied in the code. Breaking that social contract with homeowners is a very big deal.

Would any of you care to admit that at the very least, this proposed transformation and considerable urban densification represents a tremendous roll of the dice?

If this is as bad as it looks, and if as desired and as comped officially it brings in Elmhurst and Naperville numbers on the roads - what then? Forcing it through unthinkingly as it appears some here are wont to do, just to spite residents throughout the village who dared to support the idea of the community they bought into is hardly a recipe for success.

Would any of you care to admit that at the very least, this proposed transformation and considerable urban densification represents a tremendous roll of the dice.

I'll grant you that the density is a material change from the former retail site use. However, I think it's more of a thoughtful step forward vs role of the dice. The quaint old days of "shopping local" have gone the way of Costco & Amazon.

More importantly, this devlopment will not be the first or only apartment/condo complex in the CBD - - those are peppered all around now. Some newer, and some much older.

BTW - Main Street is closed southbound today near the pool (construction), yet the sun continues to shine.

There are plenty of places to live that do not have zoning, and even a few with zoning who'd welcome The Behemoth with open arms. But you chose here, as we all did. And here we have had a near 75 year post-war consensus on scale, charm and SFR primacy embodied in the code. Breaking that social contract with homeowners is a very big deal.

Would any of you care to admit that at the very least, this proposed transformation and considerable urban densification represents a tremendous roll of the dice?

If this is as bad as it looks, and if as desired and as comped officially it brings in Elmhurst and Naperville numbers on the roads - what then? Forcing it through unthinkingly as it appears some here are wont to do, just to spite residents throughout the village who dared to support the idea of the community they bought into is hardly a recipe for success.

I'll take you up on that and admit that approval of the project entails a roll of the dice. But while I'm a lefty idealist i think we must also consider pragmatism and private property rights. The current condition is a vacant store with no practical and easy repurpose (although I did think that a late-night gay dance club might work in the Gieshe space). Any proposal to convert blight to productive use must be given a fair shake.

There are plenty of places to live that do not have zoning, and even a few with zoning who'd welcome The Behemoth with open arms. But you chose here, as we all did. And here we have had a near 75 year post-war consensus on scale, charm and SFR primacy embodied in the code. Breaking that social contract with homeowners is a very big deal.

Would any of you care to admit that at the very least, this proposed transformation and considerable urban densification represents a tremendous roll of the dice?

If this is as bad as it looks, and if as desired and as comped officially it brings in Elmhurst and Naperville numbers on the roads - what then? Forcing it through unthinkingly as it appears some here are wont to do, just to spite residents throughout the village who dared to support the idea of the community they bought into is hardly a recipe for success.

The choices are no development, or development that is a bit over-sized. There are currently a handful of five story buildings in the CBD. Oddly, the old apartment building on Hillside around the corner from Blackberry is taller than the original planned building by OPUS.

Towns like this need an infusion of population density to survive. Strictly my opinion. With the Mc & Miller project all but pronounced dead, we need to pursue something like this one. Perhaps with some sensitive alterations. But to say that there should be no bulk or density whatsoever, and that the prospect of doing anything is a slap in the face to residents, don't buy it. Developer will not build what is not profitable. The days of two story buildings in CBDs have gone the way of Les Deux Gros.